Thursday, February 27, 2014

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Back in the day long before the dawn of the age of the cell phone I remember we chatted for hours on end on long drives from town to town and city to city, passing through beautiful countryside that everyone in the family enjoyed. Then came the age of the cell phone, the ipad, and the Q10, Z10 and the 5S.

Nowadays on such long drives hardly anybody speaks to anyone, as I drive blissfully with full concentration and my eyes on the road. Everyone in the van is glued to their cell phone screens, some smiling to themselves and lost in their own world, or so it seems. I'm the only one who seems to be enjoying the natural landscape and gorgeous scenery around me and my favourite music on MP3.

Back in the day I had driving directions and maps printed in advance of visits to far-off places. Now I've been upgraded with a GPS - kind courtesy - my kids. But I still do get the occasional 'go left, keep right, slow down, take care - there's a man crossing there, and other such verbal warnings from passengers and back-seat drivers - which I take in stride, or should I say I take it 'in drive'.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Old Goan homes such as the one in the drawing above were mostly built by the rich and wealthy 'battkars' (land-owners), the affluent ones who were better off by working abroad, especially in the Portuguese colonies in East Africa. These traditional houses carryied a status symbol and were based on the western designs - now commonly known as Portuguese house - with local construction ideas, materials and labour.

The houses were erected with strong foundations of up to 4 to 5 ft deep and walls consisting of laterite stone. The walls were finished with cement-mortar course and painted white. The average plinth was 5 ft high. with long balconies and verandahs. The higher the plinth and the number of steps leading to the balcony - the higher the status of the owners!

Forming an integral part of these house were decorative railings with roof covered with Mangalore tiles on a strong framework consisting of longitudinal teak wood rafters and lateral red-wood ribs that were nailed to the rafters. The floor was finished in red cement and grooved impressions that suggested tiling work. These houses had ample number of windows that provided natural light during the day.The windows were works of art in themselves - an intricate pattern mastered and perfected by Goan carpenters over the centuries. It consists of vertical wooden strips into a timber framework, slotted to accept square pieces from the nacre of the mother-of-pearl shell which are inserted into a slotted timber framework. The doors were made of teak and fitted with heavy duty long steel latches fitted on the door frames. A compound wall around the house consisted of a broad gate with a drive way as well as a smaller gate for a single person's entry in the front. The rear of the house had a narrow gate with a latch. An out-house was constructed within the confines of the compound wall at the rear with a small opening through the rear wall. The front was quite elaborate with decorative garden and steps leading to the main door of the house and a long balcony with cement or wooden benches on both sides of the entrance. Apart from the imposing facade of these vintage houses, a common feature of these houses was a Holy Cross in the case of a Christian home or a Tulsi in front of a Hindu home.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Here below is a dialogue of an elaborated/exaggerated version of a "Portuguese Lesson" that I learned many years ago. For the time being this is for amusement only. Call it PortuKonkanese!

﻿

FALT NUMUR

by Tony Fernandes

(Adapted from Portuguese/English course) This work is fiction in its entirety. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. It is a Portuguese-Konkani-English telephone conversation between a sophisticated Goan lady, Dona Joanita, residing in Goa, and a Goan gentleman, Luis, who has just returned to Goa from a holiday in Portugal. Here's an excerpt from the hilarious classic conversation.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

A popular sport during the Portuguese era in the 1950’s was
known as ’the flying of the sorngo’ (sorngo soddpak).The 'sorngo' consisted of a framework made of bamboo
ribs fastened together with coir rope and lined with tissue paper all around. It’s shaped resembled an elongated oil drum. It
was open at the bottom with a hole at the top. The base of the ‘sorngo’ was
held together at the bottom by cross wires across its circular framework. A lump
of cotton rags was tied to the bottom centre.

The art of getting this contraption aloft was based on
the rustic know-how and ingenuity of the ace innovators of our village during the 1950's. The ‘sorngo’ was entirely a home-made innovation based on the generally accepted principle that hot air inside a balloon
causes it to rise aloft.

Multi-coloured craft tissue paper was applied to all
sides and the circular top of the bamboo ribbing framework, leaving an open hole
at the top for the hot air to escape. Making it colourful meant that it could be easily spotted once it soared into the sky. In my opinion it soared to a height of at least 300 feet depending upon the duration of the burning of the flame from the rags (Konkani: 'kankaddo').After the completion of this ‘flying drum’,
a small fire was lit by burning a small cluster of dried leaves from the mango
tree. The drum was held over the fire by 2 persons over the flames of this fire
that in turn ignited the cotton rags that were soaked in kerosene. And voila in
a jiffy we had lift-off to the cheers of the folks gathered around the bonfire. It brought great joy and satisfaction to watch it finally soar into the sky after a days anticipation. Houston would have been proud!

The hole at the top let the smoke escape, while the
cotton rag drenched in kerosene acted as a ballast or stabilizer keeping the
balloon upright and steady.

As the ‘sorngo’ gradually lifted upwards, the westerly
winds pushed the gadget over and towards the fields east of Guirim, towards
Bastora. It was very exciting to see it soar up into the sky although the joy was momentary. The senior boys ran in the direction of ‘sorngo’ keeping it in sight
looking momentarily upwards toward the skies as they ran. The best fun and
excitement was the task in retrieving as the 'sorngo' fell to the ground after the cotton
rag had burnt itself out.

As it was considered a fire hazard this sort of sport
and entertainment was eventually banned by the Portuguese, in order to prevent
fires that could have been caused when these contraptions descended on thatched
huts, houses and other property while the embers from the cotton rags still
smouldered as they came down.

Those were the days, but now, I think it is absolutely
illegal to send this sort of thing into the skies by any means. This write-up
is meant for keeps for posterity. You can make it, but do not fly it under any circumstances. The reason for
its ban is that it is a huge fire hazard once it falls to the ground after the cotton rag has burnt itself out.Once the 'sorngo' soars into the sky it is entirely at the mercy of wind with no definite direction or pattern of its own. It is beyond human control and there's nothing one can do about that.

Saturday, February 08, 2014

Friday, February 07, 2014

~ To Jay Leno ~"Every night you delighted with your wit,Every thing went like you planned itAnd really put on quite a showIn my heart I felt I could stand itTill you walked with your *grip*through the door."Come back, Jay Leno ~

Thursday, February 06, 2014

Memories of another era - The Fabulous 1970's, when colour film came in rolls of 12, 24 and 36 exposures. And photographers kept a count and charged for each and every extra photograph 'that was not in the original contract'. This picture was taken by the famous Goan pioneer of photography in Dubai - Rod of Rod's Photo Studio in Deira, Dubai. Those were the days.